WASHINGTON — Representative Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) announced on Thursday that she won’t run for reelection in 2026, marking the end of her decades-long run in the House and capping off her legacy as one of the Democratic Party’s most powerful and effective leaders.
“I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress,” Pelosi said in a six-minute video that showcases her tenure and her city’s history.
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“That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know. I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” she says. “With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.”
Pelosi, 85, has represented her progressive San Francisco district since 1987. First coming to the Congress to tackle the AIDS crisis devastating her community, she rose through the ranks of her party to make history, again and again. She was the first woman elected House minority whip in 2001, the first woman elected House minority leader in 2002, and, most notably, the first woman to become House speaker in 2007, and again in 2019.
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As party leader, Pelosi kept a tight grip on her colleagues for decades. She was known for her mastery of vote-counting and legislative strategy, and her ability to bring wavering Democrats on board with her plans by hauling them into private meetings, plying them with pieces of dark chocolate and cutting a deal before they walked out the door.
Pelosi has been a boon to Democratic fundraising for decades. In 2014, for example, one news outlet suggested she was single-handedly keeping House Democrats afloat that year.
Her legacy as speaker includes her strong opposition to the Iraq War during President George W. Bush’s tenure and her pivotal role in passing landmark legislation under President Barack Obama. She was key to some of his greatest successes, including the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill, the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which infused $841 billion into the economy to stave off pain from the 2007-09 recession.
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During President Donald Trump’s first term, Pelosi was his most formidable adversary. She routinely called him out for his lies and recklessness, and threw up barriers to his many efforts that Democrats opposed. Trump was no fan of hers, often calling “sick” or “crazy,” but even he praised her political savvy when Democrats retook the House in 2018, saying she deserved “a lot of credit.”
Pelosi weathered numerous intra-party scuffles as leader. She angered progressives in 2019 by refusing to support impeachment proceedings against Trump, though she later agreed to hold hearings and Trump went on to be impeached later that year. She also upset some Democrats last year by not-so-subtly signalling that then-President Joe Biden should drop his bid for reelection after his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.
The California Democrat had been fueling speculation about her future for weeks. She said last month that she’d be making an announcement on whether she was running again, but only after the November 4 elections. She was waiting to see the outcome of a California ballot initiative she strongly supported: Proposition 50, a statewide redistricting measure that Democrats are pushing as a counter to gerrymandering in Republican-led states. It passed.
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There’s not an obvious successor for Pelosi’s House seat. Democrats currently running for this seat include California state Senator Scott Wiener and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former tech executive who was also former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat, New York).
